Transboundary delineation, characterisation and monitoring of groundwater bodies in the Dnipro river basin of Ukraine and the Pripyat river basin of Belarus under the European Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+)

The EU-funded program European Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+), which is the biggest commitment of the EU to the water sector in the EaP countries, helps Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine to bring their legislation closer to EU policy in the field of water management, with a main focus on the management of trans-boundary river basins. It supports the development and implementation of pilot river basin management plans, building on the improved policy framework and ensuring a strong participation of local stakeholders.

Project funding is provided by the European Commission (DG NEAR), the EU support program for improved cooperation in the eastern EU neighborhood region and the EU Water Initiative Plus (EUWI+). On a national level, financial support comes from the Austrian Development Agency, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism as well as from the French Office International de l’Eau. Up to 2020, management plans for selected river basins and transboundary rivers will be implemented under the leadership of a European project consortium headed by the Environment Agency Austria.

One important first step is the delineation of groundwater bodies according to the principles of the EU Water Framework Directive and the harmonization of transboundary groundwater bodies between Belarus and Ukraine. Groundwater experts of the Ukrainian Geological Prospecting Institute and the Belarus Unitary Enterprise “Research And Production Centre For Geology” identified and characterized the transboundary groundwater bodies which are crossing country boarders in the Dnipro river basin in Ukrainian and the Pripyat river basin in Belarus. Furthermore, a corridor which is supposed to be in transboundary groundwater interaction was identified. All methodological work was bilaterally agreed.

The experts of both countries made an inventory of existing groundwater monitoring sites and a proposal of monitoring sites which should be subject to transboundary monitoring and bilateral data exchange. In addition, a joint transboundary groundwater survey including the joint selection of monitoring parameters, a common sampling campaign and a joint interpretation of the monitoring results is planned for the period until August 2020.

A statement of the quantitative and chemical status and the risk of not achieving good status in future, as a conclusion of all collected information and monitoring data will be given.

The already available results of the joint investigations are presented.